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August 23, 2024
Images From Inside (and Outside) the DNC
Here’s a look at this week’s 2024 Democratic National Convention.
Photos by Susan Meiselas
Long after the pageantry and the speeches at this week’s Democratic National Convention are forgotten, the images will linger. A beaming Kamala Harris capping her whirlwind journey to the top of the presidential ticket. Tim Walz’s son, Gus, unabashedly weeping with pride. The activists in the streets and on the floor, refusing to let Gaza be erased from the agenda.
This was a historic convention, one that saw every kind of emotion—jubilation, pride, defiance, heartbreak, and hope—flicker across its landscape. To capture this year’s DNC in all its complexity, we turned to renowned photographer Susan Meiselas, who was in Chicago all week. These are just a few of the many indelible images she brought back.
(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
Chicago, August 19, 2024. Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
To love this country is to fight for its people—all people, working people, everyday Americans like bartenders and factory workers and fast-food cashiers who punch a clock and are on their feet all day in some of the toughest jobs out there.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Chicago, August 19, 2024. Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
Chicago, August 19, 2024. Democratic National Convention. Protesters marched toward the site of the Democratic National Convention on its opening day Monday to voice their opposition to the war in Gaza.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black. Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those “Black jobs”?
Michelle Obama
Chicago, August 19, 2024. President Joe Biden’s speaking in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’s candidacy for president during the first day of the Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
Chicago. August 20, 2024. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaking during the second day of the Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
Kelly Jacobs, a delegate from Mississippi, at DemPalooza, held at McCormick Place during the Democratic National Convention.
Delegates enter United Center while passing by both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protesters.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
Vice President and now officially the Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris gives her acceptance speech on the final day of the Democratic National Convention.(Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos)
Can we count on you?
In the coming election, the fate of our democracy and fundamental civil rights are on the ballot. The conservative architects of Project 2025 are scheming to institutionalize Donald Trump’s authoritarian vision across all levels of government if he should win.
We’ve already seen events that fill us with both dread and cautious optimism—throughout it all, The Nation has been a bulwark against misinformation and an advocate for bold, principled perspectives. Our dedicated writers have sat down with Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders for interviews, unpacked the shallow right-wing populist appeals of J.D. Vance, and debated the pathway for a Democratic victory in November.
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The Editors of The Nation
Susan Meiselas
Susan Meiselas is a documentary photographer based in New York and a member of the cooperative Magnum Photos. She is the author of Carnival Strippers (1976), Nicaragua (1981), Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History (1997), Pandora’s Box (2001), Encounters with the Dani (2003) Prince Street Girls (2016), A Room of Their Own (2017), Tar Beach (2020), and Carnival Strippers Revisited (2022).